El Vacío y la Esperenza
by Octanek
Summary: Iris Potter has died at a young age, but death is not the end for our young heroine, for another soul joins her, and where there was once emptiness, there is now hope. Fem!Harry.
1. Chapter 1: Descubrimiento

**El Vacío y la Esperenza**

**Chapter One: D****escubrimiento**

**Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling and Bleach by Tite Kubo**

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><p>"Potty Potty Potty!" taunted Dudley and his gang, Iris risked a quick glance behind her, they where still gaining.<p>

Running into an alley Iris hoped to lose them in it's darkness. But was devastated to find that it ended with a brick wall, she was trapped!

"She's trapped, let's get her!" yelled Pierce Polkiss pointlessly, the "brains" of Dudley's little merry band of bullies.

They all rushed in and surrounded her before she could even contemplate running away, Dudley shoved her hard, and she felt herself fall backwards.

_Smash!_

She hit something, _hard_, something that broke under her weight, her breath was knocked out of her and she grunted in pain. Iris tried to stand back up but her body felt like it weighed a hundred tonnes.

"Fuck, she's really hurt, let's get out of here!" yelled someone she couldn't see, and she heard the patter of feet away from her, she was alone.

Looking around Iris finally saw what injured her, a jagged piece of glass was sticking out of her chest, edge facing outward and covered in blood, _"My blood." _thought Iris despondently.

She felt her eyes getting heavier, and she weakly attempted to pry the piece from her, but she couldn't even move her hands, realizing the futility of the situation she began to cry, two tears managed to make their way onto her cheeks before she closed her emerald eyes and nine year old Iris Potter knew no more.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ulquiorra Cifer regarded the busty red haired girl attempting to catch is hand with dispassionate curiosity. When her fingers brushed his, he saw that they gave way and crumbled to dust, the rest of his arm quickly following.

"I... See." he managed to say, unsure if he was disappointed or not, he saw that tears where beginning to flow from her eyes, she looked... Sad? Yes that was the emotion he was looking for.

Turning his head away from her and towards his victorious opponent. Kurosaki Ichigo looked angry, and looked away when his gaze met his. Feeling the rest of his body rapidly disintegrating, the Quatro Espada was finally free.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Iris opened her eyes, and frowned. She felt... Different. Looking down she saw the reason for her death, and frowned again before realizing that the piece of glass was not there anymore, there was a gaping hole where her heart was, perfectly round and positioned where the glass struck.

Iris frowned for a third time, she was surprised that she was unaffected by this situation, she quickly stood up, her body suddenly receiving a burst of energy.

"_I remember dying, what the hell happened? Why am I still alive?" _she thought furiously. She began to examine the hole in her chest. _"My heart is gone, why am I still alive?" _her thoughts repeated. Another burst of energy hit her, and she doubled over in pain, she felt like her veins where on fire. The buildings around her began to rumble, it felt like an earthquake. Before she could ready herself another burst of energy slammed into her again, this time Iris collapsed from the pain, she couldn't take it any more, she began to scream, however what came out her mouth was not the high pitched shriek of a pre-teen girl but the roar of some terrifying monster, utterly inhuman.

"_What's happening to me!?" _Iris thought with panic.

The buildings around her began to collapse, the pavement beneath her began to crack around her, like thin ice, the cracks forming a circle around her and continuing to grow at a tremendous rate. Realizing that if she didn't get out of here soon she would be crushed, Iris began to run but blinked in surprise when she suddenly appeared in front of Number 4 Privet Drive, followed by a loud boom.

"_This is too bizarre, I felt myself run, but it was so fast I couldn't register it, I was in that alley one second, and now I'm here..." _Iris thought, confused beyond belief.

Covering her hole with Dudley's old denim jacket, which felt like a coat on her. Iris meekly began walking towards the front door, desperately hoping she could sneak into her cupboard without anyone noticing.

Opening the door Iris listened intently. She could hear the television blaring in the background, and the clang of plates in the kitchen, which meant that her Uncle and Dudley where watching TV and Aunt Petunia was cooking dinner.

"_Perfect, they won't even notice me."_ Iris thought with satisfaction. Slowly but surely, Iris began to sneak her way towards the cupboard.

Sighing with relief when she crawled her way inside and quickly closing the door, she crawled towards her "bed" which was no more than a pile of old sheets, covered in faded yellow marks from when Dudley wet the bed and a pillow which consisted of many of those sheets stuffed into a ball.

As she laid down Iris felt herself quickly fall asleep, exhausted from her apparent miraculous resurrection.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Opening her eyes Iris regarded her surroundings, she was standing in a vast desert of grey sand, with strange skeletal crystal trees. A waxing crescent moon hung in the starless night sky._

"_This is Hueco Mundo." Came a male voice to her right, turning to face him, Iris regarded the strange man._

_He was of average hight, his skin paper white. He was wearing strange white robes that reminded Iris of something she saw on TV when she caught an excerpt of a documentary on Samurai. His feet where covered in blacks socks and white sandals. What looked like a katana hung from it's scabbard which was attached to his left hip, held there by a green sash. His hands where resting in his pockets._

_Looking up Iris saw that his robe was opened and he had a hole in his chest, the exact same position as hers. He wore a strange helmet that only covered the right side of his head, it looked to be made out of bone and was ridged, ending in a single horn. Lank black hair feel around his neck, a single tuft sticking in the middle of his forehead. His face wore no emotion, and two green lines flew down his face from his brilliant emerald eyes, looking like tears._

"_Who are you?" Iris asked._

"_Mine name is... Or was, Ulquiorra Cifer." He looked confused for a second, but was back to his emotionless state quicker than she could blink._

"_It appears I am inside your mind, would you mind telling me how I came to be here?" asked Ulquiorra, his emerald eyes boring into hers with cold intensity. _

"_I... I don't know, I-I died recently, m-maybe that's why?" stammered Iris, she moved her arms around her, and felt her jacket slip off her thin shoulders, it fell onto the sand with a soft thud. Ulquiorra's eyes widened when he saw the whole on her chest._

"_I see... You appear to have a Hollow hole, but you are still human, and most importantly still alive, how?" he asked._

_He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. Opening again he regarded her with open curiosity._

"_I can sense power on you girl, my power and... Something else, something I have never felt before." He half whispered, more to himself than to her._

"_You said you _where_ Ulquiorra Cifer, d-does that mean you died too? And what's a Hollow?" Iris asked timidly after a few seconds of silence. _

_He closed his eyes again, and turned his head to face away from her._

"_Yes, though I was technically already dead and I died a second time. A Hollow is a soul that is transformed into a monster after death, and constantly hungers for other souls. They vary in appearance but they all have a hole replacing their heart..." He pointed to his hole, "And a mask." He finished, resting a hand on the strange bone helmet of his for a second._

_Taking a wary step away from him, Iris began to regard the man occupying her mind a little fearfully._

"_Where I still alive would be right to fear me child, but since I am powerless inside your mind, I cannot do anything to you, even if I wanted to." he explained calmly._

"_Oh..." Iris muttered stupidly. A thousand questions where raging inside her mind, Iris picked one to ask._

"_After I woke up from my... Death, the buildings around me began to shake, like an earthquake, and then I moved so fast that I didn't even notice I ran a mile in the blink of an eye, how?" she asked, the question escaped her lips like a flood released from a damn._

"_That was your Reiatsu, or Spirit Energy, which you seemed to have acquired from me, you would have to be careful and learn to control it, lest you rip apart any more buildings around you. And you ran so fast because of Sonído, a technique known by powerful Hollows which allows them to travel at extreme speeds." He explained, turning to face her again._

"_Cool!" Iris exclaimed. "I can finally outrun my Cousin!"_

_The strange man raised an eyebrow, the question was evident in the air._

"_T-that's how I d-died..." stammered Iris. "Dudley and his gang cornered me in an alley and Dudley pushed me onto some glass." she finished, her voice so quiet he had to strain his ears to hear her._

"_I see." He eventually said, his eyes looked considerably softer. _

"_Do you wish revenge?" He asked. The question completely surprised her, she blinked a few times trying to digest it._

"_Um... No, not really, I mean he didn't mean to kill me, it was an accident so..." she rambled, avoiding his eyes._

"_You are a most curious girl, everyone else would have rushed off to kill him, it's what all Hollows do after their conversion, they seek out those closest to them in life and kill them, it is like an obsession to them." He said, his voice monotone._

"_Maybe I didn't because I'm still alive and not a full Hollow?" she looked at him again, and noticed something. "Wait, you said all Hollows had a mask, where is yours?" she accused, pointing a finger at him._

_He looked pensive for a moment, as if deciding whether to tell her or not._

"_I used to have one, but it broke when I became an Arrancar, a Hollow/Shinigami hybrid." He explained before she could ask._

"_Shinigami?" She asked instead._

"_Death Gods or Soul Reapers, they are the ones who protect souls from Hollows, and help human souls to enter Soul Society, which is what you might call Heaven."_

_He waved a arm around himself._

"_This is a representation of Hueco Mundo, where Hollows reside, it is a realm, like Soul Society, but for lost souls."_

_"So... It's Hell?" asked Iris, trying to understand the strange worlds of the dead._

"_No, Hueco Mundo is more like Purgatory. Hell is something completely different."_

"_So what's the difference between Hollows and Arrancar?" she asked, burning with curiosity._

"_They-" he began to explain, but a sudden rumble jarred him from his thoughts. He looked around, and finally at her._

"_It seems you are waking up girl, I feel myself fading, so this might be the last we speak, know this girl, you carry a power far beyond mortal comprehension, use it wisely." He stated cryptically. _

_Before Iris could ask him to elaborate she saw the would around them getting darker and darker, and felt herself starting to fall._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Iris opened her eyes, and then closed them again when she felt a monster of a headache starting. She was back in her cupboard, her strange dream still fresh in her mind. The headache worsened and Iris began to moan in pain, it felt like something was trying to cram itself inside her head.

After what felt like an agonizing eternity, the pain eventually subsided. Iris blinked as new information began rushing into her brain, an entire lifetime's worth of them.

"I see." she eventually said in a monotone voice. A beam of light shone through the crack of the cupboard door, revealing two green tear like stains on her paper white cheeks.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>

**This is a companion piece of sorts to my other story "Iris Potter and the Soul Enigma.", where that one focuses on Iris in Soul Society this one will focus on an Iris/Ulquiorra hybrid going to Hogwarts.**

**I will be updating both stories ****regularly, this idea was not something I could pass up, and I have a solid idea where both stories will go.**

**BTW I'm stealing the idea for Spanish chapter titles from the amazing story "Amenaza" by Alban55. :P**


	2. Chapter 2: La Carta

**Chapter 2: La Carta**

**Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Bleach by Tite Kubo.**

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><p><em>One year later.<em>

Iris sat on the roof of Number 4 Privet Drive and surveyed the neighbourhood around her. It was early morning, and the sun is yet to greet the day, birds are singing on trees, all in all, it was rather peaceful.

If one where to observe our young heroine you would see that she has changed dramatically since her brush with death. She now stands slightly taller than she would have been, her bones being regenerated and growing at a normal rate now. She no longer wore her glasses and her hair, while still an untameable mess, is now more straighter and falls into a similar pattern as her previous life.

"_Thankfully my skin is pale, but not unhealthily so like Ulquiorra's was." _Spending days outside in the sun weeding the garden has done wonders for her complexion.

After Ulquiorra's memories joined hers Iris deduced that he was her previous life and that her premature death coupled with that mysterious power of hers, resulted in a merging of sorts, she gaining is memories and power the result.

Thankfully her personality hadn't changed much, not that she noticed at least, she still felt like her old self, if a little more wise and jaded.

"_Could have been worse, I could have stayed an emotionless robot." _Iris shivered at the thought.

The sun finally crept over the horizon, illuminating her face. Iris chuckled to herself as she remembered her "families" reaction. Aunt Petunia had shrieked herself to high heaven, and furiously tried to scrub the "stains" off her cheeks, but to no avail. Fortunately, Dudley seemed to give her a wide berth from that day on, which was good. Fortunately for her, she managed to throw away her blood stained dress.

Iris was glad that a hole in the chest is easy to hide, if she gained his old mask as well, then that would have been harder. But what frustrated Iris more is that she could not call the power of Murciélago to her side, she could feel it, but it was locked away by the other power, one that she had no idea what it did or how to control it. She remembered strange events which she contributed to that power, keeping her hair long after Aunt Petunia gave her a horrible bowl cut the night before, teleporting on the school roof, levitating one of Dudley's toys towards her during an early Christmas.

"_But HOW do I control it?" _Iris kept repeating this question, and every time she asked herself she felt no closer to coming to an answer, it was maddening to her.

The flapping of wings brought her out of her reverie, and she glanced towards the noise and blinked in confusion.

A rather windswept looking Barn Owl was making it's way towards her, a letter of all things clutched in it's talons. The owl swooped over her head, depositing the letter on her lap before he settled on a nearby tree, and began to stare at her intently, as if waiting for a reply.

"_Yeah right!" _Scoffed Iris.

She picked up the letter and started to examine it, it appeared to be made out of yellowing parchment instead of paper, and had a red wax seal that showed a crest which depicted a lion, snake, eagle and badger.

Turning it around Iris saw what was written, in jade ink:

**Ms. Iris Potter**

**The Roof**

**Number 4, Privet Drive**

**Little Winging**

**Surrey**

Iris felt a chill run down her spine.

"_Are they watching me?!" _Panicked thoughts rushed through her head for a few seconds before she forced herself to calm down. Taking a deep breath Iris closed her eyes and opened her Pesquisa to sense her surroundings.

"_Hmmm, I sense nobody around with any sort of power, except for those strange cats of Mrs. Figg's, and... That owl."_

Iris opened her eyes and regarded the owl with renewed interest, she felt a small sliver of _something_ on the owl, a power similar to hers. She had experimented with the cats before, asking them questions and following them around, but aside from their strange power, they seemed like perfectly ordinary cats, but Iris wasn't fooled, there was _something _about them that made them special, like the owl.

Glancing around herself to make sure, Iris shrugged her shoulders and brought her attention back to the strange letter. Carefully slicing the wax seal with a fingernail, her Hierro making them as sharp and sturdy as any steel blade. Unfolding the contents out, Iris began to read.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(_Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_**

**_Supreme Mugwump, Internation Confed. of Wizards_)**

**Dear Ms. Potter**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.**

**Yours sincerely, **

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress**

Unfolding the other half, Iris read the most bizarre list of equipment she could imagine.

"_Dragon hide? Wand? Pewter cauldrons... Are they serious?" _

Iris was about to rip apart the letter, parchment or not. But paused, on the off chance that it wasn't a joke.

"_Maybe that mysterious power of mine _IS _magic, it would explain quite a bit, but Ulquiorra has never encountered magic, aside from Shinigami Kidou, very odd..."_

Looking at the owl again, Iris decided to risk it.

"Wait here while I get something to write a reply with." She told the owl. To her immense surprise, the owl nodded his head slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Iris leapt off the roof and landed gracefully on the grass below, nodding to herself in satisfaction, Iris proceeded inside the house through the garden door, that lead into the kitchen.

Carefully, lest she wake her jailers, Iris crept towards the desk in the living room Vernon used to do his work. Picking up a sheet of paper and a pen, Iris began to write;

**Dear Deputy Headmistress**

**Thank you for accepting me into your school.**

**May I be so bold as to request a representative to come and explain this magic? I remain sceptical.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Iris Potter**

Folding the note, Iris slipped it into an empty envelope which she sealed by licking the edge.

"_Much better than using wax all the time!" _Iris thought.

Sneaking back outside, Iris handed the letter to the owl.

"Bring this to Minerva McGonagall please." She told him, the owl nodded again before taking off, the letter clutched in his claws.

"_Now all that's left to do is wait." _Iris grinned in anticipation, her jailers would be in for quite a surprise.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

A few days passed, and Iris was beginning to wonder if it was all a joke, but the highly trained owl seemed a bit too much, and her senses weren't wrong, there was something special about the owl, aside from his training.

As she was busy preparing breakfast one morning, there came a sharp rapping at the front door. Vernon looked up from his paper.

"Get the door Dudley." He ordered before going back to reading.

"Make Potter get it!" Dudley retorted with a mouth full of sausages, Iris shivered at the sight.

"Get the door girl!" Vernon grunted from beneath the paper.

"Yes Uncle Vernon." She replied sweetly, rolling her eyes when they couldn't see.

Iris carefully placed the frying pan back onto the hob and proceeded to make her way towards the front door. Opening the door Iris was greeted to a strange sight.

Before her stood a tall and imposing man, dressed from neck to toe in billowing black robes with a high collar, he had a large hooked nose, pale and pallid skin, greasy black hair and coal black eyes that where regarding her with intensity.

"Ms. Potter?" He asked, he seemed surprised at seeing her, not that she could blame him, she got that reaction a lot whenever she was seen in public, which was why the Dursley's never let her outside for more than gardening.

"Yes this is she, may I ask who I am speaking to?" If he was surprised by her formal tone, he didn't show it this time, he merely nodded.

"My name is Professor Severus Snape, and I represent Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I was informed that you requested a demonstration of magic?" His voice was cold and demanding, Iris could tell that he was used to total obedience from his students.

"Oh, please come in Professor, I was in the process of making breakfast when you came by, would you care for some?" She asked out of politeness, but she knew that he would refuse.

"No thank you, I won't remain longer than I need to." He replied, eyeing the house with disdain as he stepped over the threshold.

"This way please." Iris beckoned, leading him towards the living room.

As they passed the kitchen, Iris heard a shriek followed by "You!" from Aunt Petunia.

"_Interesting, I didn't expect her to know him, perhaps they knew about this whole magic business to begin with..." _Iris thought.

The Hogwarts Professor paused and turned to regard her Aunt with even more disdain, his lips curving into a menacing sneer.

"Yes me, though hardly surprising I should think, you knew this day would come." He all but snarled at her.

Petunia turned her hateful gaze onto Iris and her eyes widened with recognition.

"You!" She shrieked again, pointing her bony finger at Iris.

"You got your letter didn't you?! You little brat." She spat.

"Yes, although I assumed it was a joke, I'm surprised though that you knew about it, I hid it quite well." Iris replied calmly.

"You mean you never told her?" Snape asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

"Of course not! We wanted to stamp out this freakishness out of her, but no, she had to go the same way as my dratted sister, even looks like a freak, completes the picture." She responded hatefully.

By this time Vernon and Dudley had waddled in, Vernon looking angry, his face reaching a level or purple Iris had yet to see. And Dudley was cowering behind a couch, his fat head peeking out occasionally.

Snape looked taken aback by her vitriol, he turned to look at Iris, his sharp eyes scanning any visible parts of her body, no doubt looking for bruises. Fortunately for Iris, her Hierro prevented said bruises to form, as well as give Vernon a nasty surprise when he smacked her on the head a few months ago, and then proceeded to howl in pain, to him, it felt like hitting a steel wall.

"You requested a demonstration of magic?" He asked, then smiled, which looked particularly sinister on his face.

Spinning around sharply, a long wooden black stick appeared in his hand, he pointed the stick at Dudley, and a bolt of pale purple light shot out of the stick at a great speed, there was a crash, followed by frantic squealing, where there was once Dudley, there was now a large pink pig.

Iris couldn't help herself, she burst out into peals of laughter, clutching the frame of the door she was standing besides for support.

Petunia screamed and Vernon roared, he attempted to tackle Snape but he was quicker, in a flash Vernon's arms and legs snapped together, his whole body stiffening, and he fell over backwards, like a plank of wood.

Pointing his wand, for that is what it surely was at Petunia, he repeated the same spell he used on Vernon and her screaming stopped in an instant, the only sounds being herd now where Iris' laughter and Dudley's squealing.

Snape glided into the living room, his cloak billowing behind him, he crouched down above Vernon, pointing his wand at him again, "Legilimens." he intoned.

Iris wasn't sure what that spell did, for both Snape and Vernon where perfectly still for several seconds before Snape seemed to snap out of whatever trance he put himself under, he shook his head several times and turned to look at Iris, who by now had stopped laughing and was watching Snape with great interest.

"Go and grab your coat, we're leaving." He ordered, his voice barley above a whisper, Iris could see great rage in his black eyes, nodding her head Iris headed towards her cupboard.

She heard him repeat his previous spell, no doubt on Petunia, but she paid it no mind as she grabbed her "coat" which was still Dudley's old denim jacket, now more faded and ripped than previously.

"_I really need to get new clothes." _She thought with distaste, all of her clothes came from charity shops, all garishly ugly dresses with floral patterns and pastel colours, Iris was surprised Petunia even spent that much on her, she was sure, that if she were a boy, _all_ of her clothes would be Dudley's hand-me-downs, she shivered at the thought.

As she re-emerged from her cupboard, she saw Snape standing just outside, his posture stiff, Iris could tell he was struggling to hold in his rage, which surprised her slightly, why would he be so mad all of a sudden, what exactly _was_ that "Legillimens" spell he used?

"We are leaving." He said simply and without further pause, he proceeded to make his was towards the front door, Iris quickly following.

"Where are we going sir?" Asked Iris after they left Number 4. Snape paused and looked back at her, his expression unreadable.

"To Diagon Alley, I was tasked with accompanying you to gather your school supplies." He stated, he extended his left arm towards her.

"Grab my arm and hold tight." He instructed. Iris raised an eyebrow at the odd request but complied, grabbing it and holding tight.

Suddenly, Iris felt some force grab her roughly by the navel and proceed to spin her around in some great cyclone, she could barely make out colours and blurred shapes before the sensation suddenly stopped and she slammed onto the ground roughly, barley maintaining her balance.

Taking a deep breath to avoid throwing up, Iris opened her eyes and gasped.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! <strong>

**Review questions:**

**ShiroHollow96: I'm not sure about pairings yet, Iris would need someone with a heart big enough for both of them, and there aren't that many selfless souls in the HP universe, well... There is one. ;)**

**To everyone else who reviewed, favorited and followed this story, a big thanks to you all! Your support means a lot! :D**


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